Unravel

Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto.

Sakura floated in a void of nothingness, as she tried to recall what happened to her and how she got here.

You're here, because I summoned you. Spoke a male voice, that sounded like it was coming from all directions.

Sakura was confused. Who would summon her? Why would they summon her?

I summoned you to make a deal. One that will affect your past, present, and future.

Well, this was new. Sakura had never experienced something so out of the ordinary, unless she was with Naruto. Flashes of her idiot blonde rang through her mind, causing a huge pang in her heart. It had been five years since the war and the Shinobi alliance won, but not without a price. Naruto and Sasuke ended up sacrificing their lives to seal Kaguya away forever, this time. No one had seen it coming, because everyone expected Naruto to succeed like he always did and lead the shinobi world into it's final era of peace.

But they had been dead wrong. After Kaguya was sealed away, the tree had slowly begun to dissolve, releasing it's captured victims. However, Sakura and Kakashi had to confront all those people, with a dead Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto, all carried by a kage. Sakura would never forget the pure devastation on Minato's face, when he realized his son was dead. There was one thing a parent should never see and that's the life of their child slip away.

Regret had gripped at her heart then and there. Regret for not being able to console the older man. Regret for not being able to help Naruto or Sasuke, due to her lack of chakra. Regret for not treating Naruto better earlier on and for not treating Sasuke like a person, instead of an idealistic goal. Regret for not telling Naruto...that she possibly loved him.

Yes, Sakura had realized she had strong feelings for the idiot, when he was on his death-bed. She realized that what she felt for him was stronger than anything she felt for Sasuke and that as soon as the war was over, she would confront him about her realization and try to start a relationship with him. But, it would seem, she was not fated to, because right when she came so close, he was ripped away from her in the most brutal manner. Was it her fault? Was it because she was so selfish for most of her life? Was it the curse of Team 7 to never get a happy ending?

Sakura didn't know, but she did not dwell on it. Sometime during Kakashi's explanation on what happened to Obito, Sasuke, and Naruto, Orochimaru and Kabuto slipped away and the Edo kages began to fade. She was able to muster up enough courage to say to Minato, " I'm sorry." right before he vanished.

Things were a lot different after that day. When Naruto died, all the bijuu went with him. All the living kages agreed to a peace treaty in honor of Naruto and his wish for peace. No one was willing to reject such a thing at this point. Everyone returned to their respective village and tried to rebuild their broken lives. Konoha had never been so depressed. It felt like with Naruto gone, the sun was cold and dim. A statue was erected in his honor and the entire village attended his funeral, as well as the funeral for all the fallen Konoha shinobi.

Not long after returning, Tsunade had announced that she would be stepping down. With losing her entire team, little brother, lover, and the added stress of the war, she could no longer deal with the position of Hokage and ended up collapsing one day on the job, physically ill. She, along with Homura and Koharu, had several options on who would replace her. The first was Shikamaru, however he decided that he could not deal with such a position, take care of his grieving mother, and keep a hold on his long distance relationship with Temari, so he was out. The next was Kakashi, but it was not long after, that the man retired from the shinobi ranks. After losing his parents, first team, and nearly his entire second team, he could no longer handle the pressure of being a soldier. He had become a recluse and was taken care of by Sakura, Guy, and Yamato.

The final option, was Sakura herself. Sakura had automatically began throwing herself deep into her work and ninja training, a week after the funerals. She worked herself so hard, that she never had time to think about her shattered life. She continued like that for months, until she was stopped by a person, she had not seen in a long time. Sai. He had been there for her, when she ran her body into the ground, he had been the one to force her to deal with the abyss that was reality, he had been the main glue that kept her from breaking. She would be hauled up in her room for hours on end crying about the past and Sai would be right there with her, never saying a word, but keep a comforting hand on her back and being her shoulder to cry on.

They ended up getting a house together, along with Yamato and Kakashi. Sakura could not bear to look at her parents and neighbors eyes, that were full of pity. She would often go back to their house and have dinner with them, but her true home was with her teammates. When Sakura had first heard the news that she was being considered for Hokage, she flipped. Sakura had no right to such a position, no right for such an honor, and no right to take Naruto's dream. It had taken Sai, Ino, Kakashi, Yamato, Shizune, and Tsunade to calm her down, but it did not change her mind. She could never fill those shoes and could never bring honor to that hat, as much as it predecessors and Naruto had. So Konoha was at a stand still.

However, in the end she was convinced that it was the right thing to do, by none other than Gaara. He, along with his siblings, had come to Konoha after hearing about it's issue of not having a proper leader anymore. He had sat in with the elders and Tsunade, listening patiently and quietly. Once it was over, he went looking for the kage candidate, finding her in front of the memorial stone, tracing the names of her friends and loved ones. He had not said a word. He knew why he was there and Sakura knew as well, but he never spoke about the meeting, nor explain why Konoha needed her. Instead he asked her something, that had her freezing in place.

" You loved him didn't you?"

Sakura had been extremely surprised, but she answered him none the less.

" I don't know. I never experienced love in such a way. But...He was the most important person in the world to me."

What she got in return was what made her become the Hokage.

" Then, do it for him."

So she became Konohagakure's official Rokudaime Hokage. She spent most her time in the office, with Sai at her right and Shikamaru at her left. The Nara had said, he could only be one person's right hand and Sakura never pressed the issue. That had been nearly a year after the war and slowly Konoha was coming to life, but it would never be what it once was. The Leaf village had lost so many icons, so many lives, and so much hope, that it was a miracle the village was standing. But Sakura made sure it did, in honor of Naruto. She had torn down the Uchiha district, except for the main house, which was repaired and would be cleaned every month. She wanted to leave something of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans and something for Sasuke.

She had lived day to day, never forgetting the past, but forcing herself to look at the future. Four peaceful recovery years went by, until an old enemy reared it's ugly head. Orochimaru had appeared with new allies, looking to control the nations and divide them, but they were met with resistance. Konoha fought, Suna fought, Kiri fought, Iwa fought, and Kumo fought. They were not going to make the same mistakes they did in the past, they fought together to make sure they would not end up in the same situation as before. It was the final stretch and Sakura was battling a mutated Orochimaru, right as she landed the finishing blow, she felt her body get encased by a warm light, then vanish.

So you remember now.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked around, but all she could see was white. " You brought me here. Why?"

I wanted to give you an option.

"An option? Why me and why now?"

" The option was originally suppose to go to the hero that vanquished all evil. I believed it would have been the Uzumaki boy, but he died." Sakura winced." Since you are the one, who killed Orochimaru, ending the last bit of true evil in the world, I will give you this. If you choose to, you may go back to the past, to keep this future from ever coming into existence. I could send you back in time, as you are now, and you could change things."

Sakura could not believe her ears. Time travel was so preposterous. But even thinking this, a part of Sakura, the part that has been dead for years, seemed to come to life at the thought of changing things, making things better, and rewriting history.

" But why offer such a gift?" No matter what she was a cautious kage. When she became Hokage and looked through all of it's hidden history, she was amazed at how Konoha's biggest blunders were all slowly built up over time, just because they were over looked. Danzo and his activities is what led Nagato to turning Akatsuki into a criminal organization and helped Orochimaru experiment on innocent people. The third's lack of effort sooner, caused the Uchihas to drift father away from Konoha, until they were ready to rebel. The fact that Konoha never tried to reach out to the other villages, like the Shodaime did, didn't help mend the rifts that were created. Sakura was not about so rush into anything, without thinking it through.

It is to fix a past mistake. We allowed one man to continue living, even when his clock stopped, because we thought the world would be fine. But, the world took a turn for the worst, when the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and killed the Yondaime. I could not come in contact with a human, until all pure evil was removed from the world, even if only temporarily, but now I can. Will you go back, to before you even existed and try to change the future, knowing that there was no turning back? Or do you wish to return to your present and live your already created path?

Sakura thought for a long time, weighing the pros and cons. Pros, she could fix the future, keep people alive, create a happier ending and see her loved ones again. Cons, she would need to leave behind her life, would never be in the same relationship with the people in her life now, and would be most likely alone in her quest. It was a tough decision, but Sakura knew what she had to do.

" Send me back to the past."

A tingling feeling appeared on her forehead, right where her seal was, before she felt the same warm light encase her.

Good luck, Haruno Sakura. Naruto was a hero, who will be rewarded for his past sacrifices, but do be careful of the changes that have already begun to occur, with unraveling time.

Sarutobi stared at the young woman before him. He had to take long drawn out puffs of his pipe, just to calm himself down and take in the information he had just seen, via her memories. He glanced over at Inoichi and Shikaku and noticed they seemed to be in similar states of disbelief, but since Inoichi confirmed her memories were real, all three men knew there was no doubt her story was real.

" So, you plan on trying to change the future, as much as possible?" he asked the young woman, who had been through so much in her short life.

" Yes. I would like to try and stop individuals from turning dark and get rid of the ones, who already are and will play a role in Konoha's downfall. However, I do not wish to come into much contact with the people here, for my sanity and for the sake of the future." she replied politely. It was hard to wrap her head around the fact that the Sandaime was alive, younger, and sitting in the Hokage's chair again.

" If that is your wish, I will move you into an apartment not so close to others and try to make sure you take mostly solo missions. Given who you once were, I will give you the rank of my personal ANBU. Only few have such a rank, so it would not surprise people in the ninja world that you seem to show up out of nowhere, considering I assign my ANBU to long term missions and try to keep them as much a secret as possible. Now, as the successor of Tsunade, I would like you to take up work in the hospital, considering that ever since Tsunade left, the place has been at a stand still."

Sakura nodded. She would not mind working in a familiar setting, it would help her adapt to the past a little easier.

" Shikaku, Inoichi, I trust you know this information is never to leave this room. If there are those who question Sakura's loyalty and sudden appearance, try to persuade them into belief, we can not have people investigating her. Also, I will possibly have you two drop by here, if I ever need to discuss the best course of action on an up coming event, however, you must not speak a word of this in any place that is not confidential. Dismissed." both men bowed their heads in respect, before leaving.

The Hokage, then turned to Sakura." Based on your memories, I should tell you that several things are different already. For starters, Orochimaru defected from Konoha five years ago. He was caught experimenting on some children, but escaped before our forces could detain him." Sakura nodded. She was not sure where he could be now, but she knew it would not be safe to leave the man on his own.

" The other thing is something I'm not sure you'll be okay with after hearing." She furrowed her brows at that, what could be so bad, that would cause her to freak out." Minato and Kushina are not together." she froze in place." I'm not sure about the details, but I do know that they are just friends and that there's a possibility that there's someone else for Kushina." he took a breath, before looking Sakura dead in the eyes." Do not try to force what is not there, messing with people's lives to suit your needs will only hurt you and them." Sakura's eyes widened at his words.

" I am truly sorry, but I will do my best to aid you, should you need my help." apologized the man Sakura always thought was a kind old grandfather figure. Though he was kind, he was also an experienced ninja and would most likely be watching her.

Sakura rose, with as much strength as possible and retrieved the apartment key and money sack, that was placed on Hiruzen's desk. She bowed before disappearing in her name's sake, not having enough strength to walk through Konoha.

Once she was in her somewhat empty apartment, she collapsed on her bed, not bothering to shower or remove her clothes. She silently wonder what she was suppose to do now and prayed that her loved ones were watching over her.

So, I have decided to make this story, because I feel like my story 'Blossom's New Bloom', is not going the way I would like it. I was so heavily influenced by the other MinaSaku fanfics, that mine just doesn't feel like it's my own.( Though I know there are bound to be some similarities.) Nor can I write scenes a certain way, because of it's set up, which is why I am discontinuing 'BNB' for this new story.

This story will be different and most likely, will not resemble 'BNB'. However, I hope you will enjoy this version better.